Wayne Kramer

His much-noted debut came in 2003 with THE COOLER, the critically acclaimed romantic drama set in Las Vegas and starring William H. Macy as a professional casino jinx and Maria Bello as the cocktail waitress who changes his luck. Alec Baldwin received an Oscar® nomination for his portrayal of an old-school casino boss, and won the National Board of Review¹s Best Supporting Actor award. The film¹s many honors also included Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Online Film Critics award nominations for both Baldwin and Bello. Kramer won the Special Jury Prize at the Cognac Festival du Film Policier.

Kramer reconvened his key behind-the-scenes collaborators from THE COOLER for his second film, the gritty action drama RUNNING SCARED. Paul Walker starred as a New Jersey mob foot soldier who spends a harrowing night chasing down a gun used to kill a dirty cop. In the role of his wife, Vera Farmiga portrayed a woman with the brains and the guts to fend for herself in extremely dangerous circumstances. Cameron Bright played the troubled Russian kid next door who sets the story in motion by stealing the gun. RUNNING SCARED is set in working class New Jersey, and was filmed in New Jersey and Prague. It was released in 2006.

A South African native, Kramer joined the ranks of naturalized American citizens in 2000. He struggled for years in menial jobs in Los Angeles before tasting the success that came with THE COOLER. He has been writing and drawing since childhood, and his earliest dreams were of being a comic book artist. He satisfies that urge today by drawing the storyboards for his films.

Kramer lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

The Weinstein Company